he University of Castilla-La Mancha came into operation in the year 1985 although it was officially created by law on the 30th of June 1982, as a result of the autonomy policy and collective desire shown by Castilla-La Mancha society which was shared by the regional government.

From its first days this academic institution was an element for cohesion and had a clear aim in mind: to act as a fundamental cog for economic, social, cultural and technological development for the Autonomous Community, providing solutions for its present and future needs.

In 1982, professor Javier de Cardenas y Chavarri was named chairman of the Management Commission entrusted with setting the University of Castilla-La Mancha in motion. This post was to be taken by professor Isidro Ramos Salavert between 1983 and 1988 who was succeeded by professors Luís Arroyo Zapatero (1988-2003) and Ernesto Martínez Ataz (2003-2011). Since November 2011 this became the responsibility of Professor Miguel Angel Collado Yurrita.

In its thirty years of operation, the UCLM has provided young people with access to higher education and has dynamized life in the cities where its four campuses have been established: Ciudad Real, site of its vice-chancellorship-, Albacete, Cuenca and Toledo. At present, teaching extends to the towns of Almaden (Ciudad Real) and Talavera de la Reina (Toledo).